30HISTORICAL METHODJoshua theSun-goda pureinventionof themythicschoolnucleus of the Gospels by purely philological means."The attempt, he declares, is " hopeless, and mustremain hopeless, because the Gospel tradition floatsin the air." One would like to know in what mediumhis own hypotheses float. Like Dr. Drews, Mr.Robertson adopts the Joshua myth as if it werebeyond question. His faith in " the ancient Pales¬tinian Saviour-Sun-God " is absolute. This otherwiseunknown deity was the core of what is gracefullystyled " the Jesuist myth." On examination, how¬ever, the Joshua Sun-god turns out to be the mostrickety of hypotheses. Because the chieftain who, inold tradition, led the Jews across the Jordan into theland of promise was named Joshua, certain critics,who are still in the sun-myth phase of comparativemythology—in particular, Stade and Winckler—haveconjectured that the name Joshua conceals a solarhero worshipped locally by the tribe of Ephraim.Even if there ever existed such a cult, it had longvanished when the book of Joshua was compiled; forin this he is no longer represented as a solar hero,but has become in the popular tradition a humanfigure, a hero judge, and leader of the armies ofIsrael. Of a Joshua cult the book does not preserveany trace or memory; that it ever existed is animprobable and unverifiable hypothesis. We mightjust as well conjecture that Eomulus, and Eemus,and other half or wholly legendary figures of ancienthistory, were sun-gods and divine saviours. But it isparticularly in Jewish history that this school is aptto revel. Moses, and Joseph, and David were allmythical beings brought down to earth; and the godDavid and the god Joshua, the god Moses, the godJoseph, form in the imagination of these gentlemen